The 2002 NFL Draft kicked off this afternoon with the expansion Houston Texans taking Fresno State Quarterback David Carr first overall. The New England Patriots made a bold move by sending their first round pick 32nd overall, their 3rd round pick 96th overall and 7th round pick 234th overall to the Washington Redskins to move up to the number 21 slot to select Colorado University tight end Daniel Graham. The Patriots are moving on from the Jermaine Wiggins/Rod Rutledge combination and drafted one of the best tight ends available. Graham caught 51 balls for 753 yards and 6 touchdowns for the Buffaloes last season. He's a decent blocker but more of a hybrid between Rutledge and Wiggins. He may not have the hooplah that Jeremy Shockey had, but he definitely was a big factor in Colorado's 10-3 season.
The Patriots then made a bold move with the last pick of the second round, 65th overall, when they took Louisville wide receiver Deion Branch. The Patriots signed inexpensive wide receivers last year like Bert Emmanuel, Charles Johnson, Torrance Small and David Patten hoping one of them would stick. Now they're going with legitimate prospects as Branch had a standout season for the Cardinals in 2001. He caught 72 balls for 1,188 yards and 9 touchdowns. Louisville went 11-2 and won the Liberty Bowl and Branch was a big part of it. He may not translate to pro success but it wouldn't be surprising if he did.
As mentioned earlier the Patriots didn't have a third round pick after they traded it. It eventually ended up in the hands of the Denver Broncos who took Mississippi State defensive tackle Dorsett Davis with the pick. As for Graham and Branch, the Patriots had a rather pedestrian offense under Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady last year and upgrading at tight end and receiver helps next year and beyond. The Patriots still have draft picks tomorrow to fill out the depth chart but Graham and Branch seem like solid picks on paper.
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